A total solar eclipse occurred at the Moon's descending node of orbit between Friday, January 3 and Saturday, January 4, 1908, with a magnitude of 1.0437. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide. Occurring about 14 hours before perigee (on January 4, 1908, at 12:30 UTC), the Moon's apparent diameter was larger.
Totality was visible from Ebon Atoll in German New Guinea (now in Marshall Islands), the Line and Phoenix Islands (now in Kiribati) on January 4 (Saturday), and Costa Rica on January 3 (Friday). A partial eclipse was visible for parts of northern Oceania, Hawaii, southern North America, Central America, the western Caribbean, and western South America.
Observations The eclipse was observed by astronomer William Wallace Campbell of Lick Observatory, viewed from Flint Island, Kiribati, an uninhabited island in the Line Islands. The team of Lick Observatory departed from San Francisco on November 22, 1907, and arrived in Papeete, Tahiti Island, the capital of French Polynesia on December 4. After making preparations of supplies and logistics personnel, it departed again on the evening of December 7 and arrived at Flint Island on the afternoon of 9 December.
Astronomers from the Royal Astronomical Society, Sydney Observatory and a party from Australia and New Zealand which included Francis McClean and Henry Winkelmann also observed the total eclipse near the observation site of Lick Observatory. The team successfully took images of the corona.
Eclipse details Shown below are two tables displaying details about this particular solar eclipse. The first table outlines times at which the Moon's penumbra or umbra attains the specific parameter, and the second table describes various other parameters pertaining to this eclipse.
+January 3, 1908 Solar Eclipse Times Event Time (UTC) First Penumbral External Contact 1908 January 3 at 19:07:37.2 UTC First Umbral External Contact 1908 January 3 at 20:03:19.2 UTC First Central Line 1908 January 3 at 20:04:02.0 UTC First Umbral Internal Contact 1908 January 3 at 20:04:44.8 UTC First Penumbral Internal Contact 1908 January 3 at 21:02:14.0 UTC Ecliptic Conjunction 1908 January 3 at 21:43:22.3 UTC Equatorial Conjunction 1908 January 3 at 21:45:11.7 UTC Greatest Eclipse 1908 January 3 at 21:45:21.4 UTC Greatest Duration 1908 January 3 at 21:45:57.9 UTC Last Penumbral Internal Contact 1908 January 3 at 22:28:29.5 UTC Last Umbral Internal Contact 1908 January 3 at 23:25:57.2 UTC Last Central Line 1908 January 3 at 23:26:40.8 UTC Last Umbral External Contact 1908 January 3 at 23:27:24.4 UTC Last Penumbral External Contact 1908 January 4 at 00:23:04.0 UTC
+January 3, 1908 Solar Eclipse Parameters Parameter Value Eclipse Magnitude 1.04375 Eclipse Obscuration 1.08941 Gamma 0.19334 Sun Right Ascension 18h52m47.6s Sun Declination -22°53'44.4" Sun Semi-Diameter 16'16.0" Sun Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 08.9" Moon Right Ascension 18h52m48.0s Moon Declination -22°41'55.4" Moon Semi-Diameter 16'41.7" Moon Equatorial Horizontal Parallax 1°01'16.1" ΔT 7.7 s
Eclipse season
This eclipse is part of an eclipse season, a period, roughly every six months, when eclipses occur. Only two (or occasionally three) eclipse seasons occur each year, and each season lasts about 35 days and repeats just short of six months (173 days) later; thus two full eclipse seasons always occur each year. Either two or three eclipses happen each eclipse season. In the sequence below, each eclipse is separated by a fortnight.
+ Eclipse season of January 1908 January 3Descending node (new moon) January 18Ascending node (full moon) Total solar eclipseSolar Saros 130 Penumbral lunar eclipseLunar Saros 142
Related eclipses Eclipses in 1908 A total solar eclipse on January 3. A penumbral lunar eclipse on January 18. A penumbral lunar eclipse on June 14. An annular solar eclipse on June 28. A penumbral lunar eclipse on July 13. A penumbral lunar eclipse on December 7. A hybrid solar eclipse on December 23.
Metonic Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 17, 1904 Followed by: Solar eclipse of October 22, 1911
Tzolkinex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of November 22, 1900 Followed by: Solar eclipse of February 14, 1915
Half-Saros Preceded by: Lunar eclipse of December 27, 1898 Followed by: Lunar eclipse of January 8, 1917
Tritos Preceded by: Solar eclipse of February 1, 1897 Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 3, 1918
Solar Saros 130 Preceded by: Solar eclipse of December 22, 1889 Followed by: Solar eclipse of January 14, 1926
Inex Preceded by: Solar eclipse of January 22, 1879 Followed by: Solar eclipse of December 13, 1936
Triad Preceded by: Solar eclipse of March 4, 1821 Followed by: Solar eclipse of November 3, 1994
Solar eclipses of 1906–1909
Saros 130
Metonic series
Tritos series
Inex series
Notes
References
Photo of Solar Corona January 3, 1908